San Diego, Calif. (Oct. 6, 2007) -- The Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball team (7-8 overall, 2-5 in the MWC) broke a five match losing streak with a four game win (28-30, 30-21, 31-29, 30-26) against San Diego State Aztecs (11-6, 3-3 in the MWC) on Saturday afternoon in San Diego.

“This was a great win for us today,” said head coach Pat Stangle. “It was nice to end the road trip with a win. Rachel Smith had a great match with 29 kills and overall the team played well.”

Three Cowgirls finished the match in double-figures led by senior Rachel Smith. She recorded a match high 29 kills along with 12 digs and a .361 (29-7-61) hitting percentage. Angie Hellbaum and Lauren Scott each followed with 15 kills, while libero Carissa Lee finished with 14 digs. They hit .289 (76-26-173) for the match and had seven total team blocks.

San Diego State was led by Lindsey Mahan with 16 kills and three blocks, while Stephanie Darnell added 14 kills. Aime Cordeiro finished with a match high 20 digs as well.

The two teams traded points back and forth in the early going of the first game as they played their way to an 8-8 tie. The Cowgirls would score the next three points to make it 11-8. San Diego State pulled to within one, 11-10, but Wyoming scored three of the next five to go up 14-11. The Aztecs answered with a 7-2 scoring run to regain a two point lead, 18-16. The Cowgirls evened things up at 18 all, but San Diego State scored the next three straight to go back up 21-18. Wyoming responded once again with a 5-1 run to go up one, 23-22, unfortunately the Aztecs tied it up and the two teams traded points. With the score 28-27 in favor of the Cowgirls, San Diego State scored the final three points to take game one, 30-28.

The Aztecs jumped out to a small 4-2 lead, which was quickly tied up by the Cowgirls. The scoring went back and forth for the next several points until Wyoming gained a two point advantage, 12-10. SDSU evened it all up, but a 7-4 run by Wyoming gave them a 19-16 lead. The Aztecs would score the next two points to pull within one, 19-18, which was answered by the Cowgirls scoring the next six of seven to extend the lead to 25-19. They would hold the Aztecs to only two points the remainder of the way to win the game 30-21.

In the third game, San Diego State jumped out to a 9-5 lead, which was answered with a 5-1 scoring run by the Cowgirls to take a one point lead, 10-9. The Aztecs answered by scoring the next six of eight to regain a two-point lead 15-13. They continued to maintain that lead over the next several points until the Cowgirls evened it up at 20 all. San Diego State scored the next three points to make it 23-20, but Wyoming evened it up at 25-25. Unfortunately, the Aztecs scored the next four of seven to earn game point at 29-27. The Cowgirls would hold off two game points and scored four straight points to win the game 31-29.

The fourth game started off with San Diego State taking a 7-4 lead. The Cowgirls responded with a 9-2 scoring run to take a four point lead, 13-9, but the Aztecs came back with six of the next seven points to go ahead 15-14. After Wyoming even it all up at 15, they would make a small run to make it a three point game, 21-17. After SDSU scored the next point, the Cowgirls scored the next three of four points to go up five, 24-19. Despite being out scored the remainder of the way Wyoming pulled out a 30-26 win in the game and a 3-1 win in the match.

The Cowgirls will now return home for the next four matches at home beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 9 as they host the Northern Colorado Bears. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Results

Laramie, Wyo. (Oct. 9, 2007) -- The Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball team (8-8 overall, 2-5 in the MWC) continued their winning streak with a three game victory (30-27, 30-15, 30-24) against Northern Colorado Bears (5-15, 3-4 in the Big Sky) on Tuesday night in Laramie.

“This was a good win for us,” said head coach Pat Stangle. “If you look at their record, they have played some of the same teams as us and have been very competitive. This was probably one of the best defensive matches of the season for us, and kept them off balance. Overall, it was nice to get another win under our belts.”

Two Cowgirls finished the night with double-figures led by senior Rachel Smith. She recorded a team high 15 kills, along with two service aces and two total team blocks. Outside hitter Angie Hellbaum added 11 kills and nine digs, while Lauren Whitney followed with eight. Libero Carissa Lee led the way with 19 digs. Wyoming hit .192 (46-23-120) for the match and outblocked the Bears 7-5.

Northern Colorado was led by Dulcie Stone with nine kills, while Taylor Smith and Allison Raguse each recorded seven kills. Abby Mayne led the way in digs with 12 for UNC. They would hit .034 (30-26-119) for the match.

Both teams traded points back and forth in the early going of game one until the Cowgirls went on an 8-1 scoring run to go up 14-7. Northern Colorado responded with five straight points to pull within two, 14-12. Wyoming regained a five point lead, 18-13, and then the two teams played pretty evenly. The Bears battled back and made it a one point game, 27-26, but the Cowgirls scored the final three of four points to win the game 30-27.

It was all Wyoming in the beginning of game two as they opened up an 11-4 lead. The Bears scored the next couple of points, but Wyoming ran off ten of the next thirteen points to go up double-figures, 21-9. Northern Colorado managed to pull within nine, and that would be close as they would get. The Cowgirls would win the second game 30-15 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Game three started off very similar for the Cowgirls as they jumped out to a 12-4 advantage. The Bears answered with a 10-4 run to pull within two, 16-14. Wyoming kept their composure to score the next seven of ten to go back up 23-17. A determined UNC team wouldn’t go away and made it a 26-22 contest, but the Cowgirls allowed them to only score two more points to win the game 30-24 and the match 3-0.

The Cowgirls will continue play at home on Saturday, Oct. 13 against the 23rd ranked Colorado State Rams. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Results